Countdown
by Tamabonotchi
Summary: Series of short stories made for the challenge at the IchRuki FC for Ichigo's birthday back in August. Seven different themes, seven similar stories between the Ichigo and Rukia.
1. Cat Forms

**A/N: **Hello, everyone! It's been a very, very, long time since I've updated with anything! I feel incredibly guilty for not writing anything at all to share with everyone. September was the start of school again, October turned pretty hectic, November was even MORE hectic and I tried writing an original story, which didn't work out with the lack of time I had, and now it's December! I'm on winter break now, so I thought I should do something since I check this place for any new stories to read. It reminded me about this.

You see, waaaaay back in August, I participated in the IchiRuki FC's challenge for Ichigo's birthday over at Bleach Asylum(I'm never there anymore). I wrote seven short drabbles every day, and shared it with the FC. I was planning on posting them up here, but I had kind of forgotten.

But now, I'll be posting each of the super short stories in these last two weeks of the decade! So please, enjoy!

Another note, these all range from K to Teen, I'll provide all the notes for the story in each chapter, including the rating.

**Disclaimer: **Bleach is not by me, but by the ever so amazing(and good looking) Kubo Tite! Seriously, compared to other Mangaka, he's pretty.

* * *

Cat Form

Rating: K+

Characters: Ichigo, Rukia, Karin, Yuzu, and kittens.

* * *

"Ichi-nii, look! We found some stray kittens! They looked really  
Hungry, so Karin-chan and I picked them up!  
"What? You don't pick up stray animals! How you even found them just around  
Outside isn't normal, but you have to drop them back!" Ichigo scowled.  
"What-?! But, they were so cute, and looked so skinny… W-we had to save them!" Yuzu cried,  
Her eyes watering.  
"Uh-" Ichigo didn't know what to say, once Yuzu's water works started.  
Rukia just had to show up at that minute.  
"Hey, are these cats?" She looked down at the mewing creatures in wonder.  
"Their only little kittens! Rukia-chan, we have to keep them, but Ichi-nii says we have to leave them out in the streets!" Yuzu cried. Karin was remaining silent through the whole conversation.  
"Ehh, that doesn't sound like Kurosaki-kun at all." Rukia gave a sideways glance, using her false voice.  
"Please, Ichi-nii! We can't let them die!" Yuzu picked a black one and brought it up to Ichigo's face, tears daring to roll down her face.  
"Please Ichigo?" Rukia asked in her sweet tone. Ichigo glared at the shinigami, who was carrying 3 kittens in her arms.  
"Why are you siding with Yuzu-?!" Ichigo exclaimed.  
"Come on, Ichigo! At least give them something to eat for today." His glare turned to the smirking Karin.  
"Come on Yuzu-chan; let's go get some food ready for the kittens!" Rukia smiled and turned towards the kitchen, Yuzu following her just as bubbly.  
"W-wait, I didn't say you could keep the cats!" Ichigo called out.

Protesting was useless to him now, after they prepared small bowls of fish for each of the five kittens. Now Yuzu and Rukia were playing with the kittens with strings, as Karin watched over on the couch, having her own on her lap.  
"Hey Ichigo, look at this one!" Rukia walked over to him carrying on of the kittens, the orange on in the litter. "Look, it seems to be scowling just like you!" She joked, pointing to its puffy face.  
"We should call this one Ichigo!" She announced, holding it up above her head.  
"What? I don't look like a cat!" Ichigo stared at the furry creature that now shared his name.  
"How cute, and this black one should be Rukia-nee!" Yuzu called out. She lifted said kitten, then handed it over to Ichigo.  
"Rukia…?" Ichigo brought the kitten up to his eye level and looked straight into its eyes. All the cat had going to being similar to the said shinigami was the black in relation to her hair.  
"This doesn't look like you at all." He commented, staring back at her. Rukia, the kitten, began sniffing Ichigo, the substitute. It gave a small 'mew' and began rubbing its head against his arm as he held it.  
"Well, if you say so Ichigo," Rukia smirked at the site of Ichigo holding Rukia, the kitten, "I think this Ichigo is like yourself in cat form!" She brought the kitten close to her in a slight embrace, making Ichigo blush.  
Ichigo, the kitten, responded warmly to her hug as he licked her cheek, earning a genuine giggle from the shinigami. Ichigo stared in shock from the sound she emitted as the kitten in his arms emitted a similar noise.  
"Look, Ichigo's licking Rukia, like a kiss!" Karin called out.  
"Shut up!"

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed reading that short thing! The next chapter will come out in either one or two days!

If you have a second(and you do if you're reading this) please leave just a short review. Thanks!


	2. Parfait

**A/N: **The second story! Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Bleach not by me. Pardon my French, or lack thereof. I know more German than French.

* * *

Parfait

Rating: Teen(obscure innuendos)

Characters: Ichigo, Rukia, Isshin, Karin, Yuzu

Notes: The stupid pun I made up is that parfait, not only a dish, but also means 'perfect' in French. Try to understand the innuendos if you can.

* * *

Kurosaki Isshin sat, eating the dinner Yuzu had prepared. Surprisingly, he was being calmer than usual. That, meaning he wasn't showing his love for all of his children- even if his son called it annoying beyond belief.

He stole fleeting glances at said son and his third daughter- it may not be official now, but he knows Rukia-chan really will be considered a daughter to him soon.  
He looks at the pair as a whole- he's not quite sure how far their relationship has gone- Ichigo certainly looks calmer now that Rukia-chan has been living in the Kurosaki residence for quite some time now.  
Rukia-chan has also shown her real side, no longer using the school girl persona she first used to get to live with them- not that he minded at all. It was the start of his great plan.  
He couldn't help but chuckle at his plan of having the two sleeping under the same roof again- this time, being less convenient now that she was sleeping with Yuzu and Karin instead of in his closet.  
He hoped this would stir something up, despite not wanting to try to interfere too much with the two. After all, he didn't want to push something natural by force.  
He's quite confident to say the plan has been working.

A grin slipped onto his face every time he saw Ichigo cast Rukia his own glance. His third daughter, listening to Yuzu's recipe on making a French Parfait, was oblivious to the many signals being sent from right next to her.  
"That sounds like a wonderful recipe, Yuzu! I would deeply enjoy trying and making a parfait." Rukia commented.  
"I could help you make it any Sunday, Rukia-nee! We can make the most delicious parfait!" Yuzu gushed. Isshin then saw an opportunity to strike.  
"Oh Yuzu-chan, there's no need to make parfait for me, when I have three parfait daughters right here!" He suddenly exclaimed, surprising the other four at the table with his loud outburst.  
"What are you talking about?' Ichigo asked.  
"I think he means along the lines of saying perfect daughters." Karin explained, mostly toward the confused Yuzu.  
After that, they ignored him for the rest of dinner. Yuzu and Karin began clearing the table and washing dishes, when Isshin noticed Rukia-chan had gone up stairs quickly after dinner as Ichigo remained helping with the dishes.

Just as Ichigo was going up the stairs, Isshin called out to his son. He tried to wipe off the smile from all the thoughts going through his mind of what his son might be doing upstairs.  
Ichigo sighed and turned around, but Isshin motioned him to come closer.  
"Listen son, I have something very important that we should discuss father to son." He began serious, but he could tell Ichigo was skeptical about this 'serious discussion'.  
"What is it?" He asked.

"I'm not going to question what you have done or what experiences you have had with Rukia-chan..." He saw Ichigo's face turn to dread to where the subject was going, Isshin always was the one to bring it up and try to take lies out of proportion.  
"But I have one thing to say." He said.  
"What?" Ichigo questioned with a droning tone.  
"Since I have three parfait daughters, I think that it's alright to share one to the starving man, so you have my blessings!" He smiled and gave him thumbs up.  
He was very happy with the results, seeing a red, hot faced son glaring at him.

The next moment he was on the ground after a hard punch to his left cheek. Yuzu called out to him asking if his was alright as Ichigo stormed off in embarrassment. He opened his eyes to find himself on the floor, watching an upside down Ichigo walking-no, he was stomping- up the stairs in a huff.  
He grinned, and was quick to recover so he could finish before letting them have their time.  
"You know the parfait is too delicious not to want! Have at it my son!"

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**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it enough to leave a review or note! Next chapter comes out soon, happy holidays everyone!


	3. Not Okinawa

**A/N: **Celebrated the holidays by spending time with family! Did everyone enjoy seeing their family? Nonetheless, I bring you the third chapter! I plan on posting the rest everyday until the last fay of December, so hopefully I don't screw that up! Enjoy!

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Not Okinawa

Rating: K+

Characters:Ichigo and Rukia mention of Isshin

Notes: By definition, a very large lake is considered a beach! If you never heard of Okinawa, it's a place in Japan with beaches.

* * *

"Ichigo…" Rukia started, staring at the sight before her.  
"What?" He asked.  
"When you said we were going on a date, you also mentioned going to the beach, right?" Rukia turned to look at Ichigo, her eyebrows furrowed.  
"Yeah, I did. What about it?" He stared back, not understanding where she was going with the conversation.  
"This doesn't look like the beaches in the magazines…" Rukia mumbled, "With pure white sand, a blazing sun, and lots of people." She looked at the scene in front of her.  
There was sand, but it wasn't that pristine kind.  
It was partly cloudy, the sun being blocked every so often.  
And there was no one else.  
"Don't forget those beaches are actually by the ocean or sea, not a lake." Ichigo rolled his eyes, understanding her confused face.  
"Yeah!" She nodded.  
"Rukia, we're not near any real beach like those by Okinawa. This is the closest one." Ichigo explained.  
"Oh…" She muttered, but she wasn't disappointed as she looked at the clear water coming on the shore. She walked over to the water, and slipped out of her shoes. She stepped into the wet sand and shivered for a moment before walker deeper to ankle-deep in the water.  
"Oi, don't get your dress wet! If it doesn't dry, you could get a cold." Ichigo called out. Rukia turned around and smirked at him.  
"It's not going to get soaked, Ichigo!" She walked back nonetheless toward him as he set down the basket his father had generously prepared for them. After a couple of minutes of unpacking everything, Rukia jumped up from the blanket.  
"OK, I want to go into the water!" She announced, looking down at Ichigo.  
"Fine." She smiled, seeing a grin on his face despite his voice sounding exasperated.  
Even though it wasn't the beach she had thought of, Rukia knew it was still going to be a wonderful day.

* * *

**A/N: **Please don't expect much anything moderately adequate from me please. xD All of these were done back when I got home from working(like what I'm doing now) and right before the deadline, so mst of these were very, very, short.

Enjoy, until tomorrow!


	4. Hanglover

**A/N: **Well my schedule didn't actually work... I got home yesterday all exhausted and totally forgot to update! At least I didn't procrastinate any further! Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

Hang-lover

Rating: Teen

Characters: Ichigo and Rukia, mention of others.

* * *

"Here, take it." Ichigo handed her a small glass of a bubbling drink, taking a sip of his own.

"What exactly is this, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, staring at it. She whiffed it, and her brows furrowed at the alien smell.

"It's called champagne." Ichigo answered, smirking at her. She glared at him.

"What are you smiling at?" She gingerly took a sip of it and swallowed.

"Do you like it?" He asked. She could hear the suggestive tone in his voice.

"Well, it has a strange taste to it…" She looked at the glass, swilling the champagne around.

"You'll get used to it." He answered.

"Ichigo…" Rukia muttered.

"What?"

"Is this some scheme of yours trying to get me in your bed intoxicated so I'll willingly do something with you and have a hang-lover?" She said, looking at him.

"It's called a hangover, Rukia." Ichigo replied.

"It doesn't matter, you're avoiding the question." Rukia retorted.

"I'm not forcing you to drink 10 glasses of the stuff, Rukia. If you get drunk that'll be on your part." Ichigo answered.

"But you want me to." Rukia said. Judging by the blush in face, she was correct of his whole plan. "Of course." She took another sip and walked away towards their group of friends.

"Oi- wait, Rukia!" Ichigo called out and followed her quickly behind.

"Rukia, you should stop drinking that…" Ichigo watched her as she drank glass after glass, ignoring his protests.

"But you were right Ichigo, you get used to the taste after a little while. In fact, it tastes very good." Rukia smirked as she took another swig.

"Are you purposely doing this?" Ichigo whispered hoarsely, his eyes narrowing. She only smirked at him. "Rukia-!"

"Kuchiki-san!" Rukia turned and returned to their friends, where Inoue was giggling insanely as she was holding a red Ishida. "Kuchiki-san, did you hear the story when I made toast with oranges, bean paste and squid miso soup?" Inoue asked.

Ichigo looked all over the party looking for the midget. He cursed as he ran into a wall. He drank one too many of the glasses. He rushed into the kitchen, and stopped in seeing her.

"Oh, Ichigo! There you are! You know I've been looking for you, off to do things you shouldn't?" Rukia called from the counter across the room.

"Rukia, what are you doing in here?" Ichigo asked, ignoring her ramblings.

"Heh, I was waiting for you, of course. Inoue and everyone else left already, it's time to be getting home, you know. I guess you were just having a good time without me." Rukia pouted. Ichigo couldn't deny she looked cute, but he knew it was only the champagne she had lugging down all night talking.

"Alright Rukia, come on then." Ichigo grabbed her hand and began guiding her away. "Put the glass down!"

"Fine, fine Ichigo…" She smirked as she placed the glass down on the counter and followed him out of the kitchen, and outside.

"Ichigo, it's very hard to walk with these shoes and you pulling me." Rukia called. Ichigo stopped and looked at her. She bent down in her dress and took off the shoes.

"Alright, come on-" Ichigo began saying before he froze, feeling warmth on his back. He was familiar with the warmth as being Rukia on his back. He turned his head to see her holding him by his shoulders, pressing against him.

_'Oh god-'_

"Ichigo, I can't walk properly." She muttered.

"So what, you want me to-"

"Carry me?" She finished his sentence for him. "Yes, unless you'd like to bring me home with a sprained ankle if I fall." She called. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine…"

Soon Ichigo arrived at his home, carrying her on his back. Despite tripping on his own feet several times, neither fell.

"Okay Rukia, you can get off now." Ichigo whispered, not wanting to wake up his family.

"Fine, fine." Rukia muttered as she slid of his back, he grunted feeling her body's warmth disappearing. He walked down to his bedroom and sighed in relief, finally going to be able to sleep.

"What are you sighing about?" He heard her face as he was pushed onto his bed with a thud.

"What- Rukia, what the hell are you doing here?!" Ichigo hissed as he felt her climb on top of him.

"I didn't want to disturb your sisters. Why are you so antsy, I thought you were planning on having me in your bed tonight?" Ichigo stared in shock at her devious face, her eyes lighting up the dark room.

"Rukia are you serious-" Ichigo began saying before he felt lips crush into his, stopping words in his mouth.

It only took him a moment after shock to kiss back. His hands hovered over her lower back before they latched onto her hips. They released each other's lips to regain their breath for a moment.

"You know, you're plan would have worked if it wasn't so obvious." Rukia muttered.

"Aren't here in my bed, drunk?" Ichigo panted.

"No, I'm not drunk." She smirked at his shocked face.

"But, all that champagne-"

"Ichigo, we have sake drinking contests in Soul Society. I'd need twice the amount I drank tonight to be drunk." He could see the triumph shining as she snuck her hands under his shirt.

"Don't tell me, all that was just-"

"Acting." Rukia finished once again. She pulled his shirt above him and forced him to take it off. "Now look who's intoxicated?" Ichigo couldn't bite back a reply with her hands feeling her hands lining every line on his torso.

"God, Rukia…" He muttered. She smiled as she leaned in so their faces were only inches apart.

"You're going to have a hang-lover in the morning."

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**A/N: **Thanks for reading!


	5. Obi Be Gone

**A/N: **New chapter here, enjoy!

* * *

Obi Be Gone

Rating: Teen

Characters: Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya

Notes: The Furisode is a type of kimono with long sleeves to signify a young woman. The obi is the sash of the kimono, as the obiage and obijime are accessories to the obi.

* * *

"Ichigo, are you ready for the party?" Rukia asked. She walked up in her violet furisode. She stood in front of Ichigo, clad in his black kimono as his eyes stared at her, roaming across her body. She coughed to gain his attention again.

"Yes, I'm ready." He muttered.

"What's wrong with you, you're able to come with me to this party set by Kuchiki Elders!" She said.

"Rukia, this is just a party for all the old bags and Byakuya in the Kuchiki family. Why should we go?" Ichigo rolled his eyes, before getting punched hard in the stomach.

"You shouldn't say such rude things about your elders!" Rukia scolded.

"Come on, it's not like it's keiro no hi!" Ichigo argued.

"What is that?" She asked, confused.

"Respected for the Aged Day, you know." He explained.

"You only respect your elders one day out of the whole year?" She asked incredulous.

"The only 'elder' I have is the Old Man. Only you would actually respect him, Rukia!" Ichigo said.

"I guess, but could you at least be respectful towards the elders? They really won't condone any uncouth behavior." Rukia said with a small frown.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ichigo sighed.

They finally reached the Kuchiki Estate, seeing the rooms filled with old men as they passed by the rooms. It was easy to distinguish Byakuya by his black hair among all the silver and gray.

"Hello, Nii-sama!" Rukia greeted as they walked up to him. She gave a small bow, so none of the Elders around would question if she was disrespectful.

"Hey, Byakuya." Ichigo said.

"…Hello Rukia. Kurosaki Ichigo." He sent a chilling glare to him. Ignoring Ichigo, he talked to Rukia for a few minutes before saying farewell to them and left to talk to the Elders.

"What was with him?" Ichigo muttered.

"What are you talking about; he's so much warmer to you than before!" Rukia commented.

"Rukia do we really have to be here?" He mumbled.

"Well, if you keep complaining, you're not going to reach my room." She whispered, a smirk gracing her lips.

"Really?" Ichigo blurted out in excitement.

"Only if you behave and act with some respect!" She shushed him.

"I can do that." He smirked. She could feel him tug her satin white and blue obi like he was going to rip it off right there.

"I said behave!" She hissed, but both were smiling.

It wasn't half an hour before the two were rushing to her private room.

Byakuya was the soul that had to find an obi, obiage, and obijime on the floor.

* * *

**A/N: **I just have to rant... Unless you really are an expert of Kimono and can explain about every single article used, information on the different prints represent, and actually own enough to make a complete set, I hate when people wear what they call Kimonos- even yukatas. It annoys me to no end seeing them, because not only will they probably ahve something wrong, it looks odd. I hate wearing yukatas myself, but my sister has dressed me up in an actual kimono- it was very heavy and constricting...

No matter. Just a pet peeve of mine that no one actually cares about. It just happens when you see someone who obviously was misinformed with different topics, and you just want to go to them and either yell at them or kindly correct them if they have the gal to talk about it.

Anyways, thank you for reading!


	6. Senpai

**A/N: **Today is the last day of the decade, oh! Of course, this whole decade has been big. Well, here's to the new decade starting in a few hours!

* * *

Senpai

Rating: K+

Characters: Ichigo & Rukia

Notes: Senpai is the term used to call your senior or upper-class man to show respect. The term for under-class man? Kouhai.

* * *

His pencil broke at the sudden noise of his bed. Ichigo turned in surprise to see Rukia lying on his bed.

"What are you doing on my bed again?!" He exclaimed. He had stopped counting the times he found her lying on his bed- in all sorts of positions - despite his protests and yelling.

"I already explained to you, Ichigo why!" Rukia sighed, exasperated.

"Don't you dare use your drawings to try to explain again-" Ichigo warned. She sent him a sharp glare, but remained calm.

"Your bed is comfortable, so I enjoy laying on it." She said.

"Get off of it. Now." He said. She frowned, but sat up and stood from the bed. After she was off, he turned back to the important paper he had to do for school tomorrow. It was tedious work he was going to have to do for another hour or so, he guessed.

Make it two with Rukia around.

"You're still doing homework?" She peered over his shoulder. He immediately stiffened when he felt her breath as she was close to his ear.

"Yeah, like you should be doing." He said. She looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"There's a test tomorrow! Even as just in the disguise of an annoying school girl, you're going to blow it if you're held back!" He scowled.

"Really, how is that going to blow my cover?" She asked.

"Because if you're held back, no one will talk to you and you'll stay in the same class while I'm a year senior." He explained.

"…Oh? Senior?" Rukia said, her eyes shining. "So you'd be a senpai if I'm held back!" She smiled, connecting it together. He watched as she rushed to her school bag that Urahara had once again supplied her with as she rummaged through the bag.

The sound of rustling and crumbling paper was loud as Ichigo noticed scraps of paper falling out from the case, seeing bright colors on the edges.

"Ah, here's the assignment!" She announced triumphantly, holding it in the air. She shuffled to the small table Ichigo had placed a few days ago.

"Y-you're actually going to do the homework?" He said, shocked.

"Unfortunately I have no idea what this is talking about at all-"

"That's because it's English, Rukia."

"-So I'll just be failing." She finished fluidly, like he hadn't interrupted her.

"Just like that?" He raised his eyebrow.

"So please teach me, Senpai!" She called, using a devious smile.

Ichigo could only stare at her, speechless.

The room was quiet for a few seconds before he stood up from his desk and sat across from her with his work, starting at the beginning of the lesson once again.  
"Thank you Ichigo, but I think that's enough, I'm very tired." Rukia said after half an hour of reading the lesson.  
"You're stopping at this?!" Ichigo said. "You're not even half way through the lesson!"  
"It doesn't matter, it just means I can call you senpai next year. Thank you for teaching me." She started packing away all the papers and workbooks and cleared any other scraps from the table, leaving Ichigo with his things.  
"Thank you, senpai." She whispered in his ear, before leaving a like kiss on his cheek.

The whole event made no sense, as Ichigo stared the sleeping shinigami.

He cursed himself for getting caught in her lasso of nonsense so easily.

Now he had to study the rest of the material he did not get to for another hour, while the shinigami slept on his bed from the exhaustive studying.

Make it two, with that kiss.

* * *

**A/N: **One more chapter! I'm sure to post it tonight during the countdown to midnight!


	7. Present on Obon

**A/N: **Hope everyone starts their new year off well!

* * *

Present on Obon

Rating: K+

Characters: Ichigo & Rukia, Isshin, Yuzu, Karin, mentions of Inoue and Tatsuki

* * *

"Ichigo, should I really be here, celebrating with you?" Rukia asked, hesitating.

"Well, we're already carried the lanterns, so there's nothing else but celebration and the rest of the festival." Ichigo said.

"Oh Rukia-nee, your yukata is so pretty!" Yuzu popped in between the two, surprising both.

"O-oh, then you, Yuzu-chan!" Rukia said, smiling at his younger sister.

"Are you going to participate in the Obon Odori, Rukia-nee?" Yuzu asked.

"Eh? A dance?" Rukia asked.

"Ah, its part of the festival, haven't you ever celebrated Obon?" Yuzu questioned.

"Er- Ah… But, we didn't do any dances." Rukia explained.

"Ehh?" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Oh Rukia-chan, you must be part of the dance, since you are my daughter!" Isshin shouted, hearing their conversation.

"Oh- but, I don't know how the dance goes!" Rukia brought up, trying to get out of it.

"No worries, my Rukia-chan, as your father will show you each move in the dance-" Isshin started, but soon realized both Rukia and Ichigo had left.

"Where did they go?" Yuzu asked.

"Hopefully celebrating his birthday." Isshin grinned.

"What do you mean?" Yuzu looked over at her mother.

"He means doing things only a pervert would think of." Karin commented as she walked in with, ready to leave for the dance.

"Oh Karin, you only say that because you care about your family-!" Isshin began to gush.

--

"Is there really a dance to celebrate in Obon?" Rukia asked after they left. Ichigo let go of her hand and started walking down the street, filled with many people walking to the festival.

"Ah. Do you really not know of Obon?" He turned to her as she followed close behind.

"This isn't the first human festival I didn't know of, Ichigo!" Rukia frowned.

"You don't have to be part of the dance, watching it is fine." Ichigo said.

"Ah, I see- Ichigo!" Ichigo heard her light steps stop. He stopped and turned to her. She was looking across the street in a park. "What are those?" She pointed to the little children playing with sparklers.

"Oh- you mean the sparklers?" Ichigo said.

"Sparklers?" She repeated.

"Rukia that's for children… never mind." Ichigo started saying, muttering the last part.

"I want one, Ichigo!" She said.

"Oi look, we have to get going to the dance before the Old Man does something crazy. Don't worry; lots of people are selling them all around." He said.

"OK then." He grasped her hand again and pulled her along before she started walking herself. He went to release her hand, but say their hands were still connected. He looked at her in surprise, a blush creepy his face.

"R-Rukia…" He muttered.

"Oh? It's also your birthday, so Kurosaki-san said to be nice and hold your hand. That seems like quite a strange thing to celebrate one's birthday, though…" She muttered.

"Don't listen to anything he says, Rukia." He scowled, thinking of what to do to his father when he finds him.

"So, you don't want your birthday present?" She asked.

"Was it something my dad suggested?" He glanced at her suspicious.

"Well, he tried suggesting something about wrapping me in ribbon and sitting on your bed- but I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about." She recalled, not seeing Ichigo's face growing redder.

"So… what is the present anyway? No orders for a day?" He asked. Despite the joke, having not to be yelled about a measly hollow every hour of the day was one of the worst things of being a shinigami.

"I could never grant that wish, but hopefully you'll be content with this instead…" She said. He looked at her with a quizzical face, wondering if she really brought the gift with her.

He was shocked to feel warm lips against his own, and feeling Rukia holding him down as she reached up to give it to him.

It was over a second later as Rukia looked at the dazed Ichigo.

"Well? I knew how important kisses are in the human world. Even though Kon kissed Inoue and Tatsuki for you, I thought it would be nice if you actually knew what it might have felt like." He stared down at her seeing her genuine smile.

After everything had processed in his mind, his hand shot up and covered her mouth, also covering half of his crimson face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, worried. This wasn't how she thought he would react, thinking he would have appreciated the thought. "Ichigo?"

"N-no, everything's fine!" He stuttered out, "Thanks for the gift…" He said quietly, but she could hear it.

"I'm glad! Happy birthday, Ichigo!" There was a hint of pink on her smiling face as they stood there for another moment.

"Let's get going, and then… enjoy the dance." He said as he turned forward again as she followed suit. After a calming silence, Ichigo reached for Rukia's hand. She looked at him in surprise.

"I thought Kurosaki-san's idea was bad about holding hands…" She said.

"This one is the only one okay." He said, too embarrassed to face her with his cherry cheeks. She said nothing more as the two walked to the festival in a comfortable silence, still holding hands.

--

"Oh, did you see that?!" Isshin was yelling as tears streamed down his face.

"Stop yelling, Old Man." Karin said, annoyed. "We all saw it."

"I can't believe how strange Ichi-nii looked after she kissed him!' Yuzu said, thinking of his heated face.

"It's love, Yuzu-chan! And then leaving while holding hands-! I told her to do that, but my boy's the one initiating it!" He continued weeping in joy as the three were walking.

They, only catching a glimpse of the two sharing a kiss and walking off with hands together.

"Hopefully she's going to follow my other suggestion as being the present!" Isshin exclaimed in pride at his advice.

"I don't even want to know what your other advice to her was." Karin muttered

_Ende_

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**A/N: **Finished! See everyone later! I hopefully will bring something new and more for the next year!


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